By Craig Campbell, Dundas
An even-par 71 left Dundas’ Mackenzie Hughes at four under par after three rounds at the PGA Tour Q-School’s first stage.
With several golfer’s scores not yet updated at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Hughes held on to a tie for 14th place, seven strokes behind the leaders. The top 19 players – plus any ties – are expected to move on to the second stage of qualifying starting Nov. 13.
A third and final stage remains after that, beginning Nov. 28, with the top 25 at that final stage expected to receive PGA tour membership.
On Thursday, Hughes dropped slightly from two straight rounds of two-under-par 69. He started strong, with three birdies on the front nine. The Highland Secondary School and Kent State University grad picked up three bogeys in a row on the back nine to drop from three under to even par on the day.
Wednesday afternoon, Hughes mirrored Tuesday’s first round score of two-under 69, this time picking up three birdies and one bogey in the front nine plus a birdie and a bogey in the back nine.
If he qualifies to move on in the PGA qualifying process, known as Q-School, Hughes will play the second qualifying stage starting Nov. 13, in an effort to qualify for the final stage Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 in California.
The top 25 players in that final stage tournament are expected to be offered spots on the PGA Tour. Other top finishers below those 25 could earn professional membership on the Nationwide Tour or Web.com Tour.
Also Thursday, it was announced the PGA Tour would take over operations of the Canadian Tour – providing exemptions into the web.com pro tour, and Q-School to the Canadian Tour’s top players.
There are opportunities to support Hughes’ effort to reach the PGA Tour through investments in the Mackenzie Hughes Limited Partnership. There are up to 25 shares available at $5,000 a year based on a three-year commitment.
More information on the Mackenzie Hughes Limited Partnership is available from Don Robertson at 905-572-0063 or Don@comchoice.ca
Follow Hughes on Twitter (machughes10) and facebook.
